Tales of the CWF: Christmas 2002
by Ari Rockefeller
Summary: Christmastime has come, and everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. Some, more than others... (COMPLETE)
1. Part 1

CWE – Christmas 2002

Since my last Christmas special was such a big hit, I've decided to go ahead and write one for this year as well.  It's been a while since I wrote the last one, but I had fun writing it, and I am sure to do the same with this one.

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters don't belong to me...

TIME:  December 14, 2002

LOCATION:  Suburbs of Crystal Tokyo

            The winter season – which had not officially begun according to the calendar – was in full effect in the kingdom of Crystal Tokyo.  The kingdom, as well as the bordering Republic of Japan were well into the December month, and much like the Western world, were fast anticipating the observance of Christmas.

            When the world was freed from its tomb of ice at the close of the Founding War, Crystal Tokyo stood out as a shining jewel in the blasted landscape that was the principal island of Japan.  While those who fought the battles knew better, the rest of the world treated the then-city of Tokyo as though it had always been a sovereign kingdom.  So from that point on, the rest of the world officially recognized the Kingdom of Crystal Tokyo.  Its boarders were defined as the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.  Crystal Tokyo and Japan coexist (Kyoto was now the capital of Japan, as a result) the same way the Vatican City exists within the city of Rome.

            On the fringe of the city, no less than a few kilometers from the Tokyo/Japan border, resided the Briefs.  Not the Brief family that ran Capsule Corporation, but one of the higher ranking executives of Capsule Corp., who is also the front man for one of the world's premiere rock and roll bands, the Ends of Time – Trunks "Mirai" Brief (Trunks Mirai is his stage name; Trunks Brief is his family name).

            With the money he and his band were making from their music career – as well as Trunks' cushy job in Capsule Corp. – Trunks was more than well off.  He's been married for a little more than three years to a detective/tour manager for the Ends of Time, a beautiful woman named Mihoshi.  Life was very good for this young man and his young family.

            The house they lived in was built for the two of them.  It cost a shade over 1.5 million CY (Crystal Yen, the currency of Crystal Tokyo – 1 CY is roughly equal to US$0.67) to build, and was quite lavish and elegant.  A house like this wouldn't be as out of place if it were in somewhere like southern California, but despite is elegance, made a cozy home.

            Right now, Trunks is wishing he hadn't waited until the snowiest weekend in December to put up his Christmas lights.

            The cold and gentle snowfall, he didn't mind.  It was the biting wind that got under his skin.  Trunks was string white icicle lights on the top of his house, which would extend across the gutter.  He had completed about ½ of this first task, but still had a lot more decorating to do.  He had the bottom of the house, the fence that separated the front yard from the back, the tree...

            "Hey!"

            Trunks looked down from his perch atop the ladder to find his wife, Mihoshi, bundled up in a brown parka and pink toboggan, her hair peeking out from underneath.  She was smiling, but shaking a bit from the cold.  She didn't care for cold weather much at all.

            "What's up, babe?" Trunks asked, sticking his hands in his favorite purple jacket.

            "Don't you want to take a break for a while?" Mihoshi asked, still shivering.  "It's really cold out here and I don't want you to hurt yourself or anything."

            With a smile, Trunks slid down from the ladder, and picked it up.  He moved it a few feet to the right, and picked up the box where the lights were being unraveled.  "Hey, don't worry about me.  If it makes you feel better, I'll take a break after I get done the house."  He grabbed a handful of lights, and restarted his task of stringing the lights.

            "That's good," she said.  Mihoshi moved to behind the ladder.  "By the way, I just want to clarify who's all coming to dinner on Christmas night, Trunks."

            "Uh, well, let's see...my parents, my grandfather, Krillin, Goku and his family, and...oh yeah!  I've invited the guys from the band over; is that okay with you?"

            "Sure, no problem!" she said with a bright smile.

            "In fact..." Trunks rubbed his chin.  "The guys should be over any time now..."

            The streets of the Akihabara shopping district are packed to maximum capacity, and seem to be more crowded as more and more people pack the streets of Crystal Tokyo.  People were practically elbow-to-elbow in the streets, and stores were chaotic, crammed even tighter with customers buying up as many Christmas presents as possible.

            Traffic was just as bad.  Cars were packed like sardines, so tightly that the streets make downtown Manhattan look spacious.  It was the weekend, and getting gradually closer and closer to Christmas, so in a way, one could understand why traffic is as bad as it is.  People who were able to wrench themselves free of this madness breathed a heavy sigh of relief once they got back home, or wherever they were going.

            Especially for one van packed with musical instruments and band members.

            The van in question was housing four members of rock and roll megastars The Ends of Time from the cold, snowy weather.  Four of the band mates – the lead guitarist, the bassist, the drummer and the keyboardist – were on their way to the house of the fifth member of the group (the singer).  They had made tons of money touring and from their poly-platinum records, and all felt they deserved the time off around the holidays.

            The van finally managed to cut through the traffic, and was making its way through the suburbs.  Behind the wheel was Tenchi Masaki, the drummer, and the lead singer's best friend.  Sitting shotgun was the lead guitarist, Iori Yagami.  In the back seat, between the front and numerous musical instruments, was bass player Ranma Saotome and keyboardist Yugi-Yami Moto.

            Yugi was asleep.  Ranma was glancing out the window, occasionally adding to the conversation.  Tenchi was driving, while Iori was making idle chitchat, not fully paying attention to the other three buffoons.

            "So...where does our dear Trunks live?" Iori said, staring through the snow-pelted windshield, not looking at anyone else.  As he waited for a response, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his half-a-pack of cigarettes.  He drew a Marlboro out and set it between his lips, and fished out his lighter.

            "He lives another half hour away from where we are now," Tenchi said.  He printed out directions to the new Mirai house on the Internet, and was occasionally giving glances at the papers lying on the dashboard.  "I've only seen his house once before; it's really nice, though."

            Iori hummed in acknowledgment.  "I still don't understand why we have to be all the way out here, though.  What's the point?"

            "Mirai-san invited us to spend the holidays at his home," Ranma added.  "It would be rude of us to turn him down without any _legitimate _excuse."

            "Humph.  I just think this whole idea is meaningless," Iori mused.  He lit his cigarette.  "Far too commercial for my tastes."

            "What you don't realize is that it's not always about how much stuff you get on one day of the year.  It's mostly about the ties that bind – friends, family, other loved ones..." Iori took a drag on his cigarette, and blew a puff of smoke out his nostrils.  "The gifts have a much deeper meaning behind them."  Tenchi was interrupted by the sudden presence of cigarette smoke in the van.  "And what have I told you about smoking in my car?!  Put that out!"

            Iori gave him an odd look, but did nothing else.

            "Look, I got enough to deal with without you burning a hole in the car!  Now get – " Tenchi snatched the cigarette from his lips. " – rid of it!"  The cigarette flew from his lips and into the backseat.  Ranma had to duck out the way to avoid getting hit by the burning ember.  It hit the sleeping Yugi instead, rolling down his face and landing in his lap, between his legs.  The burning sensation soon woke him, and he frantically put out the cigarette.

            "What the fuck?" Yugi shouted.  "Whose cigarette was that?  Iori!"  Iori shrugged.  "What's your problem?"

            "Hey, don't get mad at me, Tenchi here was the one who threw it."

            "Please tell me they're going to behave themselves at Trunks' place," Ranma said to Tenchi.

            "We can only hope for the best," Tenchi sighed.

            Twenty minutes passed since then, and the van finally arrived at the Mirai house.  The van pulled up on Trunks' snow-covered street, just as Mihoshi was helping Trunks set up animatronic reindeer in what used to be her garden (the cold weather of the fall and winter ended her flowers' lives). The four other Ends of Time walked up the half-shoveled driveway to meet their host, their boots and shoes making the snow crunch under their feet.

            "Turn that damn music down!" Tenchi yelled out in a mock-elderly tone.

            Trunks turned around, smirking, knowing exactly whom the shouting was coming from.  "Hey guys," he answered.  Once the six got reacquainted, Trunks had a bit of a favor to ask of them.

            "Let me guess," Yugi started, "waited too long to get all the Christmas stuff out, huh?"

            "No, just the lights," Mihoshi clarified.  "We got the house all decorated; we even got the tree up!"

            "I'm sure it looks great," Ranma said.  He looked around at the snow-covered lawns and pathways.  "Hard to believe a blizzard just rolled in here like this, ne?"

            "Tell me about it," said Trunks.  "Part of me was hoping to clear out all of this by the end of the day, but I don't think that'll happen.  Which reminds me...could you guys give me some help with all this?"  Iori raised his eyebrows, his eyes still half-open and his cigarette twitching.  Everyone else agreed to help.  "Great.  This'll make things go a lot quicker.  Come in the garage.."

            Trunks led Yugi, Ranma and Trunks into the garage, the four of them grabbing shovels, brooms, and rock salt.  Iori still looked on in confusion, even as the four walked out, one of them – Tenchi, perhaps – thrusting a snow shovel into his hands.  The tasks were quickly divided up –– Yugi and Ranma would shovel the driveway and the walkway from the driveway to the front door, while Iori would get to shovel the sidewalks.  Tenchi would dust all the shoveled ground with salt to melt any ice and keep people from slipping.

            While his other band members were a touch more enthusiastic about helping out, Iori was a bit...perplexed.  Just how did he get suckered into doing this?  Iori never said he'd do this.  Why should he help out?

            That question seemed to echo in his mind for a little while.  He tossed around a few answers to that question in the meantime.  The big thing was, simply put, he agreed to put him and the three others up for the better part of three weeks.  This included food, a nice place to sleep (beats sleeping in that stuffy bus), and...what the hell...companionship, the chance to bond with the others.  Sounds like it could be enjoyable.

            With a shrug, Iori quit staring at the snow before him and brought the shovel from off his shoulder and to the ground.  It was here that he noticed that when he went to take a drag on his cigarette, it had gone out.  Instinctively, he brought his index finger up and channeled his purple fire into his finger.  The crimson flame was about the size of a quarter, but still big enough to relight the cigarette.

            As the flame burned, he noticed a few snowflakes melt when they got too close.  This gave Iori an idea.

            Tossing the shovel to the snow-covered lawn, Iori channeled his crimson fire through his right arm.  It manifested in a purple flash, and he snapped his arm downward at the knee-high snow piled on the sidewalk.  Large purple columns of fire shot out in rapid succession before him, igniting on the sidewalk below the snow, liquidating it in the process.  He smiled as the snow melted with a loud hiss and in a cloud of steam before turning and repeating the process on the opposite path.

            The others were shocked with Iori's display, but pleasantly surprised with the man's efficiency.  His lips pursed as the ground appeared to become more and more opaque.  As it turns out, the snow had melted quickly, but just as quickly turned to ice.  Iori put his foot on the ice, and put just a little bit of weight on it.  Just as he assumed, it was about an inch of solid ice.  He grabbed his shovel, and started to slam the end of the handle into the ice.  After a few strikes, cracks began to form, which were easy to shovel away.

            Iori went to work breaking up the ice and getting it off to the side.

TIME:  Roughly the same

LOCATION:  Son house, northern Crystal Tokyo

            "HA!  Gotcha!"

            "Grrrrrr!  You're gonna pay for that!"

            "Come on, I know how we can get 'em!"

            "You can try!"

            Christmastime at the Son house was a very joyous time of year.  Though the master of the house had three young boys – 12, 12 and 18 months – oftentimes Goku would act no different than a young child.

            After clearing out most of the snow in the front yard, everyone save for a few were out in the back yard playing in the still-falling snow.  What started with harmless snowman building eventually broke down into a friendly snowball fight.  Goku allowed his sons' friends to come over and play for a little while, after the two (Gohan more so than anyone) asked quite persistently.

            On one side of the yard was Goku and Reenie Shields, the Princess of Crystal Tokyo, both bundled up against the cold weather.  Though she was having a blast, Reenie had a lot of trouble keeping up with Goku's mad giddiness.  Reenie may have been a member of the royal family, but that wouldn't stop her from behaving and acting like a normal girl at times.  Her father, king Endymion (still known to his closest friends and allies as Darien) was more than glad to let her daughter see her friends.

            On the other side of the yard was Gohan, Goku's eldest son, who was plotting a strategy with Hotaru Tomoe, his brother's girlfriend and the princess' best friend.  Hotaru had more layers on than anyone else because her frail frame more susceptible to changes in weather than normal.

            Inside, watching the scene take place (in between baking _a hell of a lot of _cookies) was Chichi, Goku's wife and Gohan's mother.  Goten was in a high chair, nearly in a daze watching his mother move from the kitchen table to the oven to the window occasionally.  A snowball would occasionally whiz by the window, but Chichi knew that what was going on outside was harmless fun.

            "Get down!" Goku said quickly and quietly, pulling Reenie down behind the snow bluff they made.  It was a crude pile of snow, but for the most was able to repel a good deal of oncoming attacks.  "I know how we can really get them!"  He was practically giggling.

            "How?" Reenie asked.

            "Here, get a snowball ready.  Here..."  Goku whispered something quickly into her ear, and she nodded in acknowledgement.  She made a snowball, and he did the same, then suddenly popped up behind the barrier.  "HEY GOHAN!" he shouted, a broad smile on his face.

            Hesitantly, Gohan and Hotaru appeared behind their own shield.  "Have you two given up already?"

            "THINK FAST!"  Goku leaned back, and chucked his snowball straight up into the air.

            For a few moments, Gohan and Hotaru's eyes were fixated on the airborne snowball.  Gohan put his hands up above his eyes, trying not to lose the white dot in the gray sky.  Which is precisely when...

            "NOW, REENIE!"

            Reenie popped up, and at Goku's command, hurled her snowball as hard as she could at Gohan.  He looked back at his father and girlfriend just in time to see her snowball pelt him right in the face.  The force of the blow knocked him flat on his back, causing Gohan and Reenie to erupt in ferocious laughter.  Hotaru couldn't help but laugh as well, especially after the first one hit him as well.

            "YEAH!  We got you!" Reenie shouted, laughing.

            "Yeah, yeah, very funny," Gohan grumbled, wiping the snow off his face.

            As he wiped the snow off his face, Gohan suddenly found himself looking up at the window to his and his stepbrother Ash's bedroom.  He was suddenly hit with a pang of worry as he saw the light on, as well as the silhouette his stepbrother's form gave off.

            It bothered Gohan.

            It seems that ever since December rolled around, Ash's overall mood went into a nasty downward spiral.  He was usually rather happy and joyous, but not even four days into the month and Ash seemed to be wandering around in a state that was part confusion, part worry, and a big part depression.  He suddenly became more and more withdrawn and quiet, and seemed to have a lot less energy.  It would take something major to break him out of this permanent mood he seemed to be in, and that would wear off after not too long.  Even worse, as days went on, that task in itself became even more difficult.  More surprising, Ash's birthday was the December 1st – his birthday held the Saturday prior – which is when the first signs began developing.  When they were shoveling snow earlier, Ash seemed lost in his old world, and after that, when everyone else was out back, he didn't want to be bothered.  All he did was pass them off with a dull "I don't know...maybe later".  This shocked everyone, considering how fast Ash's mood suddenly deteriorated.

            Gohan saw his brother looking out the window.  He shrugged, nonverbally asking him if he's just going to stay up there all day.  With a heavy sigh, Ash turned away from the window, and plopped himself down on the bed, leaving Gohan even more worried.

            "Pi pika pi?" {"Gohan?"} came the sound of Ash's favorite Pokémon, his prized Pikachu.  Pikachu was just as worried as his trainer's older brother, and with good reason.  Whenever something was bothering Ash, he told Pikachu _everything_.  He was told things Ash never told another human being.  "Pikachu pika pi?" {"What's wrong with Ash?"}

            Gohan sighed as he looked at the yellow mouse Pokémon.  "I don't know, Pikachu.  I honestly don't know."

TO BE CONTINUED…………………


	2. Part 2

CWE – Christmas 2002

Since my last Christmas special was such a big hit, I've decided to go ahead and write one for this year as well.  It's been a while since I wrote the last one, but I had fun writing it, and I am sure to do the same with this one.

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters don't belong to me...

TIME:  The same

LOCATION:  Son house – Ash and Gohan's bedroom

            _Don't bother, bro...you're only wasting your time..._

            From the window of the bedroom he shared with his older brother, Ash surveyed the scene occurring in the back yard.  His father, brother, his girlfriend and his brother's girlfriend were all outside, playing in the snow, enjoying themselves, enjoying today.  Even his Pikachu and his brother's Jigglypuff had gone outside, and surprisingly, were enjoying the snowfall a great deal.  And where was he?  Up in his room, all alone, exempt from the fun.  It wasn't due to him being punished or reprimanded, however.

            It was out of apathy.  Ash chose to stay in his room.

            Ever since his mother died and he was taken in to the Son home, Ash had always found holidays very difficult to deal with.  Until he was about six, he and his now-dead mother had to put up with cruel mistreatment brought on by his biological father.  He used to (and probably still does – the man left when Ash was nearly seven years old, and hasn't been heard from since) drink, and oftentimes heavily.  In his drunken hazes, he beat up Ash and his mother numerous times, one such beating resulting in the zigzag-like scars Ash now bears underneath both of his eyes.  Not all of said beatings were alcohol-influenced; more often than not, Ash and/or his mother would be smacked around simply because the boy's father was bored or just upset in general.  In the end, he ignored his son, and left the badly scarred wife and child to their own devices.

            Now it seems even here, that's happening.

            Gohan was clearly upset by his little brother's actions.  Hotaru probably was as well, but she didn't show it as much as Gohan.  Reenie...well, it was too hard to tell with her.  If she saw him like this, she'd make way too big a deal over it.  And Goku...well, for all Ash knew, Goku was completely ignoring him…

            …Or completely ignorant of his feelings.  Either one wouldn't surprise Ash now. 

            When it was just he and Delia Ketchum for the holidays, they treasured each and every moment they spent with each other.  Mrs. Ketchum didn't make entirely too much; at times it was barely enough to make ends meet.  Regardless, when Christmas came around, she would scrape together any and all money she possibly could, and do her best to give her son a merry Christmas.  As much as Ash had suffered because of his father, he needed something that would at least alleviate his pain.  Now, however, things were drastically different.

            The vast geological and cultural differences between his first home and his adoptive home were (and at points, still are) the least of his problems.  He was being raised in a household with two loving parents – something Ash had some trouble adjusting to.  Sure, while they did take good care of him and all, and treat him as he was one of their own from his birth, but Ash couldn't help but wonder...is their care for him genuine, or is it out of pity?  Do they feel that sorry for him, to the point that they have to almost baby him?  Did it finally come down to that?

            No.  Ash didn't want people to feel sorry for him, to feel they have to protect him constantly.  But at the same time, he didn't want to be completely ignored, either.  Both of these ideas – the feeling of helplessness and being ignored – made him feel rotten.

            Ash walked away from the window after meeting Gohan's gaze, and flopped down on his bed.  This whole month seemed to be the worst time of his life in recent years.  In the past, Ash would occasionally have moments where memories of his life back in Pallet Town would surface––some of his mother, some of his father, but none were too pleasant.  Memories of his mother overwhelmed him with sorrow and longing.  Memories of his father filled him with a mix of fear, terror, resentment and disgust.  During times like this, these flashbacks would become a little more frequent, which Ash didn't like in the least.  As he shut his eyes with a heavy sigh, bits and pieces of these memories drifted into view.  Ash really didn't have a very good memory.  The reason for this is because of his past childhood experiences.  He's worked so hard to push those bad memories out of his head that he even can't fully recall recent even enjoyable experiences.  Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes.

            He then heard his name being called from downstairs.  Chichi's voice grew louder and louder.  It didn't take Ash long to realize she was coming up the stairs to the second floor.  Ash quickly snapped up into a sitting position, wiping the tears as his legs dangled off his bed.  The last thing he felt like dealing with is people who wanted to feel sorry for him – no matter who it was.

            "Ash?" Chichi called as she opened the bedroom door.  The boy had a bit of a shocked look on his face as she entered the room.  "Well gee, son, you just gonna sit up here all day?"

            _I'd sit up here the whole damn month if given the chance, _Ash thought to himself.  He decided that answer wouldn't be the most effective thing to say in this context.  "No, of course not," he said with a nervous chuckle.

            "Good," Chichi said with a nod.  "C'mon, get your shoes on, we're going out to get the tree."

            Ash complied, grabbing his shoes and following her out of the bedroom.  As he made his way down the stairs, Chichi tossed him his heavy winter coat.  He caught it, giving it a quick look over.  "What time is it?" Ash asked.

            "Almost 4:00," Chichi answered.

            Ash looked passed Chichi, who was in the kitchen, loading some dirty dishes into the dishwasher.  He got a quick look at the microwave, noticing the clock on it read 3:24.  It wasn't even 3:30 yet.  Ash raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

            He then heard the back door open, followed by the hyper laughs of his stepfather and stepbrother.  Hanging his head with a low sigh, he sat down on the top step and proceeded to put his shoes on.

            Goku and Gohan drifted into the kitchen, the heavy aroma of freshly baked cookies beckoning to them.  "Mmmm…smells like you've been baking up a storm, honey," Goku said.  He reached down and plucked a still cooling chocolate chip cookie from one of the many wire sheets laid out on the table.  He opened his mouth wide and tossed the cookie in, whole, and let out a gasp as he burned the inside of his mouth on molten chocolate.

            "Well, I was gonna tell you they weren't cool yet," Chichi said.  She turned around, and started the dishwasher.  "Finished having fun for one day, Goku?"

            "You should've been out there with us for a little while," he answered.  "I mean…" He got a sinister smile on his face as he stalked his wife from behind.  Chichi could _feel _the mischievous grin of her husband's face as he crept up behind her, and before she could react, he was upon her.  She shrieked as she felt a pair of large, muscular hands reach under her shirt…two very, very _cold _hands.

            "GOKU!" she wailed, laughing while desperately trying to free herself from his strong, yet cold grip.  "Let me go, let me go already!  Help me, boys!"  She eventually broke free, ducking a second assault, both still laughing.  "We gonna go get the tree or what?" she asked, calming herself down.

            "Yeah, sure," he answered.  He reached into the hallway closet and pulled out his coat.  Once he was zipped up, he palmed the keys in his hand and walked outside.  "Come on, guys!" he called as he exited the house, thinking his two older sons were still inside.  "We got—oh."  Goku cut himself short when he saw the two in the back seat, Ash with a long face.  He was perplexed by it for a moment or two, before being coaxed by his wife to get going.

TIME:  Half an hour later

LOCATION:  Pine Farms of Tokyo

            Normally, a drive out into the country like this wouldn't take entirely too long.  The ice- and snow-covered roads, however, made driving conditions a little less than favorable.

            The ride took them from the snowy paved city streets to the snow _unpaved _roads on the fringe of the city.  There was a minimal dispute over whether the property belongs to Tokyo or Japan, but the owner insisted he was a Crystal Tokyo citizen (the majority of his farm suggested the opposite).  The Pine Farms are run by a well-to-do businessman who most likely had one of the only such business in the region.  Mostly anyone who brought a Christmas tree brought from Pine Farms of Tokyo.

            Goku and his family pushed through the sparse crowd, looking for a tree to take home for themselves.  Rows upon rows of pine trees lined the makeshift pathways.  The Son family discussed the merits and shortcomings of the trees they were deciding upon.  Three of them were, anyway.

            Again, Ash became lost in his own world, a world of depression and sorrow.  Besides his own, he saw a number of "happy families" also scouring the lot for just the right one.  Everyone seemed to be so content at this time of year, so why couldn't he be?

            He didn't seem to notice – or care – that he had wandered off from his stepfamily.  He wandered around seemingly aimlessly for who knows how long.  All this supposed joy, happiness and such that one was supposed to feel around this holiday season was having the inverse effect on Ashura.  Dejectedly, he hung his head, his hat rocked forward enough to obscure his eyes.  He didn't want anyone to see him like this––not his family, not his friends, not any strangers…Ash was way too embarrassed.  As he walked, he winced his eyes shut tight, desperately trying to fight back tears.  A few escaped nonetheless, and the bitter cold made them adhere his eyes shut momentarily.  This sudden inconvenience bugged him; he had to almost manually pull his eyelids apart.  That's when he had stumbled across a large clearing, with several young trees as tall as he was surrounding a larger stump.

            Ash studied the site for a few moments until he felt the presence of someone near him.  It was one of the farmhands, a rather large fellow with a big, shit-eating grin on his face.  "Kid," he started, "Wouldn't you be interested in one that's just a little bit taller?" he joked.

            "Um…oh, uh…sorry," he stammered, "I'm here with my family.  We're already getting one."  He looked back at the wide-open space.  "What used to be here?"

            "Only the biggest, tallest tree I ever raised out here," he said proudly.  "This was a very special order, my boy.  Grown for the royal palace.  Why, Endymion himself personally visited here to pick it up!"  The farmhand smiled broadly; it wasn't every day that an ordinary civilian got to meet their liege face to face.  However, not only were the people Ash hung out with "ordinary", they still saw the king as their old friend Darien.

            _"Ash!"_ a voice called out, derailing Ash's train of thought.  _"Where are you?"_  It was Goku.  He walked away from the gap and down one of the paths to find Goku, Gohan and Chichi with Goten in tow running toward him.  Chichi reached him first.

            "What do you think you're doing, running off like that?!" Chichi snapped.  Ash was forced to lean back, more than a little unnerved.  "Do you know we were running around this whole garden looking for you?"

            "Easy, Chichi, easy…" Goku coaxed.  "Don't get so upset; he's alright."  He motioned to Ash.  "Right?"

            Ash looked away, his head hung a bit.  "Sorry," he said meekly, "sorry for running off like that."

            Goku caught this sudden flash of sorrow his gaijin son just displayed, and his face fell.  No one else noticed this, however.  Goku knew just by the look on his stepson's face, however, that whatever is bothering won't just go away.  "Well…" he said nervously, "we got the tree picked out."  He motioned behind him with his head, where he had the trunk of a pine tree in his hands.  Gohan was supporting the other end.  As they made their way to the checkout area, Goku handed his part to Ash.  "Here, you two go take this over to the car and tie it to the roof."

            Once the kids had moved off and the tree was paid for, Goku turned to his wife.  "Hey, do you notice something different about Ash?" he asked.

            "Yeah," she answered.  "What's bothering him?  He hasn't been acting anything like normal lately."  She looked at her husband.  "Have you—"

            "He hasn't been talking _period, _let alone about what's bugging him," Goku interrupted.  He was still thinking when he got to his car, and everyone piled in.  Adjusting the rear view mirror, he caught a glimpse of Ash's despondent look as he stared out of the back window.  _Ashura, _Goku thought, _what's getting you down, kid?_

TIME:  Around 5:00 PM

LOCATION:  Mirai Residence

            In just a few short moments, a handful of musicians were going to find out if their day's worth of work was going to pay off.

            The sun was setting on the crystalline kingdom as Mihoshi, Tenchi, Yugi, Ranma and Iori gathered on the front lawn, facing the Mirai house.  The porch lights were the only lights on outside the house, illuminating the unlit Christmas lights strung up around the fences and the house.  Other houses in the area were already lit up by their respective lights, but all on the Mirai property figured it wouldn't be complete without their work on display.  Darkness was approaching, and while the heart of the problem had been taken care of, the technical stuff had yet to be solved.

            "Yo Trunks," Ranma called.  "You got that ready yet?"

            "C'mon, you need to light this thing up!" Tenchi called, sharing the anxiousness felt by the rest of the group.

            Iori smirked, and brought his hand up to chest-level.  A purple flame the size of a softball materialized in his hand, giving off a creepy, haunting light.  Everyone else on the lawn turned to Iori and glared at him.  "Not _you!_"they blurted out simultaneously.  It was like they were reading Iori's mind.  His idea of lighting anything up would involve that cursed flame he's referenced more than once in the past—and lots of it.  Sighing, he brought his hand down to his side and let the flame disappear.

            Meanwhile, in the garage, one main electrical cord ran from the nearest strand of lights to the master of the house's workbench.  Trunks had rigged an automatic timer for the Christmas lights so that he wouldn't have to trek into the garage daily to turn them on and off.  Currently, the timer was set to turn on at 4:30 in the afternoon and turn off at around 7:00 in the morning.  The timer itself was plugged into a wall-mounted outlet strip, and was awaiting the lights to be plugged into it.

            "Alright, everyone ready?" Trunks called from the garage.  The timer was on right now.  If all went well, the lights would come on as soon as he plugged it in.  "Here we go!"

            Trunks held his breath as he thrust the plug into the timer.  He threw a glance out of the garage, seeing his lawn suddenly basked in a white glow.  The ecstatic cheers confirmed his suspicions.

            Mihoshi threw her arms around his neck as he dashed out to the lawn to join them.  Success!  Trunks' house was aglow with holiday spirit!  Icicle lights hung from the top and bottom of the house, while a single strand of chasing lights topped the fences.  The trees were adorned with red and green lights.  Not a single bulb was malfunctioning.

            "Hell of a job, wouldn't you say?" Yugi asked.

            General congratulations and cheers rang out from the lot of them.  Trunks was the most thrilled of all of them.  From what he gathered about his band mates, he was the only one out of the five of them who were settled down the way he was.  He wasn't sure if they owned homes of their own or not.  Trunks took great pride in seeing _his_ house all decked out for Christmas.

            "You know," he said, grabbing everyone else's attention.  "This may not be the best Christmas I'll ever experience…" His smile broadened.  "…but it'll be pretty damn difficult to beat."

            The glow of lights added nicely to the glow produced by surrounding homes.  While this was indeed a peaceful moment, it would be soon shattered.

            The overreacting shouts of another homeowner could be heard from down the street.  The Ends of Time plus Mihoshi looked in the direction of the shouting, but could only vaguely make out the commotion.  Trunks' eyes narrowed; his enhanced Saiyan vision allowed him to make out the scene more clearly.  A man in his early 40s was standing out on the front lawn, holding wires in each hand.  He was coaxing his family to join him on the lawn as he plugged everything.

            He slammed the two ends together, and the house lit up like a solar flare.  Everyone on Trunks' lawn had to shield their eyes.  This man had _way _overdone it.

            All in all, the overly tacky and extremely bright display lasted a few painstaking moments.  There was a loud buzzing coming from a transformer topping a power pole, which gave way to a few sporadic spark explosions before a final, bigger blast plunged the entire area into pitch darkness.  A few neighbors emerged from their homes, looking around in confusion.

            "Well, _shit,_" Trunks groaned, hanging his head.

            They heard an ignition of fire amongst them.  They all turned to see Iori with a fresh cigarette dangling from his lip, primed to be lit via his purple flame.  His eyebrows furrowed at his companions.  "What?!" 

TO BE CONTINUED…………………


	3. Part 3

CWE – Christmas 2002

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters don't belong to me...

TIME:  Later that evening

LOCATION:  Near the Mirai house

            While the temporary loss of power for Trunks' block was inconvenient, it didn't last entirely too long.  Only about two hours passed before the power company managed to restore power, and everyone's lights were aglow again.  The evening was in full effect, and everyone was settling down to a relatively quiet evening.

            Feeling the Mirai house was a bit stuffy, Iori decided to step out for a bit.  The cold weather did little to bother the last descendent of the Yagami clan; though he went outside without a coat on, he was using a small bit of his ki to channel heat given off by his purple fire.

            His decision that he did not have a cigarette in a while led him outside—mostly because Trunks didn't want anyone smoking in his house.  It was a new house, after all, and he didn't want the odor of _anyone's _tobacco lingering in the cushions of the couches or anywhere else.  That would be fine by him.  Though he didn't have to leave the property to smoke, he decided to do so anyway; it was getting a trifle bit stuffy for him inside.

            His hands in his pocket and a lit cigarette dangling from his lower lip, Iori met the cold, indifferent night with the same.  Not many people were out this time of night, but there were a few, regardless.  On one lawn, he noticed kids playing in the snow.  Apparently, the night and the cold couldn't keep the children's rambunctious tendencies in check.  No matter.

            As he walked, the tranquility overtook him.  He walked with his hands in his pockets, and his eyes closed, occasionally blowing cigarette smoke out of his nose or the corner of his mouth.  And for a few moments, Iori was totally at peace.  There was nothing bothering him – not the pressures of performing live, not his destiny to battle Kyo Kusanagi, not the infinite abyss of human stupidity…nothing.  For just a brief moment, a smile adorned the face of Iori Yagami.

            And then…he heard it…

            _Oh, the weather outside is frightful…_

Iori's eyes snapped open and his smile promptly disappeared.  His eyes, once wide, now narrowed in annoyance.  No more than a few yards in front of him, about a dozen carolers were standing on the corner, singing what Iori considered a piss poor version of _Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow._  Iori shuddered as he realized the more he walked on his path, the closer they came.  Even worse so, they were right in his path.

            It was here that Iori decided that either they or Iori had to move.

            Thankfully, they had completed the carol by the time Iori got within striking range.  One of them noticed his presence.  "Hey, merry Christmas!" the young man said with an all too big smile.  Iori took one glance over this guy and came to the conclusion that this guy had not once been laid…too hard to tell if he ever had a date from just one glance.

            Iori let out a huff.  Somehow, the rest of these carolers caught Iori's suddenly dark mood and went to call him on it.  "What a Scrooge!" "More like a Grinch, if you ask me!" "What's wrong?  Not getting anything for Christmas?" "Where's your Christmas spirit?"

            That last one stirred Iori.  All that peace he had with the world was completely wiped clean.  He found new disgust in human stupidity at the sight of these fools.  He slowly looked over his shoulder at the now motionless carolers, who were waiting on a response from Yagami.  He drew his left hand out of his pocket and up to eye level, igniting the purple flame in his hand.  The carolers were quite shocked by this, but were in for a real shock with Iori's next move.

             "You want to see my Christmas…spirit?" he said coldly.

            Iori snapped around and flung his hand down at the ground.  A ball of purple fire the size of a softball raced along the cold ground at the group, who screamed in shock and dispersed as the flame flew at them.

            Walking away with his hands back in his pockets, Iori didn't acknowledge the angry shouts coming from a few of the carolers.  As he continued along the sidewalk, he eventually came back to the Mirai house.  Discarding the spent cigarette butt into the street, Iori followed the path back to the house and went back inside.

            Hearing excited shouts and occasionally a frantic shout coming from the den, Iori headed downstairs.  Trunks, Ranma, Yugi and Mihoshi were seated on the couch, each with a different colored Nintendo GameCube controller in hand.  Tenchi was seated on the chair reserved for the desk where Trunks' computer sat.  They were playing _Mario Party 4, _and as with the "party game" genre of video games, things can occasionally take a turn for the worse.  _Of all the games Mirai has, they end up playing _this _one? _Iori thought to himself.  Off to the side in the other part of the room, their instruments were set up, waiting to be played by their respective musicians.

            Ranma, playing as Daisy, had a decent lead.  Trunks and Mihoshi – as DK and Luigi, respectively – were tied for the basement.  Yugi was playing as Wario, and it was his turn.  He had just used an item that gave him three dice rolls on this turn and made his character many times larger than normal.  "You know if you're big like that, you can't get the star," Ranma said to the smirking Yugi.  "You still can't afford it, either."

            "I know," Yugi said.  "Consider what I'm doing as a little 'fundraising'."  As he made his rolls, it was here that Ranma noticed he was directly in Yugi's path.

            "Oh no, don't even think about it!"

            "Too late now."

            The giant Wario closed the distance between the miniscule Daisy.  "No way, you better pass that shit!"

            "It's _mine!" _The giant Wario stomped Daisy, and Yugi got ten of his coins.

            "Damn it!" Ranma clutched his controller hard in his hands.  Yugi laughed as the now reverted Wario was merely spaces away from the star.  "Grrr…I'm gonna make you pay for that, Moto!"

            Rolling his eyes in disgust, Iori walked passed the lot of them, and walked over to where the instruments were.  He sat down on a stool and idly began to strum a few notes on his acoustic guitar, blocking out the commotion of the rest of his companions.  Though, as he walked back to the house, he noticed one with no lights on it at all.  He wasn't sure if anyone of Jewish faith lived on this block, and as far as he knew, most of the homeowners here were young people like Trunks, if a bit older.  He had to ask.  "Hey Trunks?" he asked.

            "Yeah, what's up?"  Trunks responded.

            "What's up with the house with no lights?  Who lives there?"

            Trunks leaned over to Iori.  "Jehovah's Witnesses."

            Iori raised an eyebrow.  He knew they had them in America, but here?

            "They don't celebrate any holidays whatsoever.  Not even birthdays.  In fact, when I was doing holiday shopping earlier this month, they were giving Mihoshi and I some serious flak."

            "I see…"

TIME:  The next morning, around noon

LOCATION:  Son house

            While some houses had calmed down as last night settled in, others hadn't.

            After they got the tree safely back home, Goku believed his tree troubles were over.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  The tree stand they had was old and falling apart, and when Goku tried to put the tree in the stand, it fell apart, and the tree fell, nearly trapping Pikachu and Jigglypuff underneath.  What Goku thought would be a quick run to the store resulted in nearly a half hour trudge through riotous crowds and horrendous parking.  Fortunately, he had made it back in one piece, and managed to get the tree up.

            They decided that they'd wait until tomorrow to decorate it.  Besides, the ornaments and tree lights were still up in the attic and Goku had yet to get them down.  Today, however, everything was in place.  Boxes of ornaments were set out in the living room, where the tree was.  The house this morning, for the most part, was very peaceful.

            Gohan noticed the tranquility around noontime as he came down to the living room that morning.  He was already dressed for the day, but wasn't doing anything of any real importance.  Pikachu was examining the various boxes closely, a little unnerved by their sudden presence.  He was on top of one, sniffing it very closely, looking to another box stacked next to that one.  Jigglypuff, in the meantime, was asleep in her bed near the dining room table.

            "And just think, Pikachu," Gohan started, "all of what's in here…" he motioned to the tree, "…will go on that."

            "Pi ka," {That's nuts,} Pikachu answered.

            "I know, isn't it?"  As he stood up straight, his eyes remained glued to the tree.  It was quite tall, nearly touching the living room ceiling.  There was just enough room at the top for the star to take its place at the top of the tree.  In the meantime, the dozens of branches would hold various ornaments old and new, while tinsel and garland would finish the job.  This was one of Gohan's most favorite parts of Christmas—decorating the tree.  He felt it brought him closer to the rest of his family.

            On past Christmases, trimming the tree was one thing they did as a family.  When it was just himself and his parents, everything seemed just right with his life.  His father and mother may have been busy the other eleven months of the year, but come December it became a different kind of busy.  Then, Gohan all of a sudden found himself with two younger brothers – now-eighteen-month-old Goten, and Ash.  And things took on a whole new dimension.

            Speaking of Ash…

            Gohan was suddenly jarred by his thoughts as he heard the stairs creak under someone's feet and a dull groan.  He snapped around and saw Ash coming down the stairs from his room, looking a bit dazed.  It was passed noon and Ashura was now just getting up.

            The speed at which Gohan snapped around to glance at the stairs caused Ash to jump backward suddenly.  He gasped softly in surprise and clutched the banister.  When it finally registered as Gohan standing there, Ash calmed down.  He mumbled a good morning – or afternoon, was it?  It was nearly unintelligible – and walked into the kitchen.

            Gohan felt a deep sadness overtaking him as he watched his stepbrother walk by.  He couldn't help but worry for his sake…as much as he said he was fine or didn't want anyone to worry.  He knew a portion of how Ash felt during this time of year – the facts, that is.  It was understandable how hard the holidays could be for a kid who lost his mother – the only family he ever really had – so suddenly.  Ash took his mother's death extremely hard; in fact, it was only the timely intervention of Gohan and Goku that kept Ash from killing himself over it.

            Gohan could somewhat understand why Ash felt miserable around Christmas.  But for some reason…he seemed worse than normal.  He and Pikachu promptly followed Ash into he kitchen, to find his brother at the kitchen table, slowly nursing a glass of orange juice and flipping through the TV stations on the television mounted in the corner of the kitchen.  He flinched again as Gohan pulled up a chair next to him.

            "Hey little bro," Gohan said.  Ash's eyes went from his glass to his brother, giving only a nonverbal response.  "That all you've had so far?  You eat any breakfast?"

            "No…I'm not hungry," Ash answered.  A deafening silence overtook the brothers.  "Hey, could you do me a favor?" Gohan leaned forward, eagerly waiting on a follow-up.  Right now, Ash could ask Gohan to go kill someone and he would do it.  "Don't call me that anymore."

            "What?  Don't call you what anymore?"  
  
            "_Little _bro."  He set the glass down on the table, looking at Gohan.  The look appeared agitated on the surface but concealed unfathomable emotional pain.  "I'm not so little anymore, don't you think?"  He hung his head.  "Of course, I'm still weak and pathetic, but it's the principle of the thing, you know?  So…just let me have that, alright?"

            Ash got up, finished off his drink and rinsed out his glass, leaving it in the sink.  He left the kitchen with Pikachu at his heel, leaving a bewildered Gohan in his wake.  Gohan was appalled at what had just come out of his brother's mouth.  This wasn't like Ash _at all.  _He knew Ash better than anyone and Gohan knew that Ash isn't the type of person to talk bad about _anyone, _let alone himself.  Why was he beating himself up so badly?  What's causing him to act like this?  Gohan had to get to the bottom of it.

            He was about to get up from the kitchen table when he heard the bathroom door down the hall shut and lock.  Moments later, he heard the shower running.  Looks like Gohan would have to wait if he wanted to get some answers.

            As he did, he looked at the note written on a legal pad left on the table.  Chichi wrote it, and it stated that they had left around 9:00 and were out shopping.  Where, exactly, they did not say.

            A few minutes later, he heard the bathroom door open just slightly.  Gohan sprang from his seat, noticing the door open ajar and steam pouring out.  Standing just outside, he didn't hear any commotion inside.  The sink faucet turning on broke this sudden calm, and Gohan slowly pushed the door open.

            "Can I come in?" he asked.

            Ash blanched backward, his toothbrush slipping from his hand and clattering into the sink.  His hair was drawn straight back, and he was wearing a dark blue towel around his waist.  "Do you mind?" he shouted at his older brother.

            "Calm down, calm down," Gohan coaxed, putting his open hands up.  As Ash took to the task of brushing his teeth, he reached for the medicine cabinet mounted to the side wall.  "I just need to get something out of here."

            Truth be told, he really needed to.  But as he opened the cabinet, he suddenly froze.  _What did I want from out of here?_ he asked himself.  Gohan went to shut the cabinet when he noticed something.  He looked in the large mirror hanging on the wall above the sinks and saw his brother staring at his reflection.  Some time passed, but regardless of how much it was, nothing changed.  Gohan wasn't even sure if Ash even blinked as he stared at his reflection.

            "Ash," Gohan chuckled.  He just had to bust his brother's chops at this moment.  In Gohan's mind, he was leaving himself wide open for it.  "I don't know how to break this to you, but nothing's gonna change, bro.  That ugly baka staring back at you is you."  He let out a light laugh, partially waiting for a retort from Ash.  When none came, Gohan shrugged and left Ash alone.

            A harmless busting of his chops was the last thing Ash took that comment as.

            As he was staring at himself in the mirror, Ash' mind was a whirling storm of emotions.  He was completely oblivious to the outside world, save for that momentary jab from Gohan.  For better or worse, his erratic thoughts focused on one individual in particular – his father.  All his regret, sadness, despair all eventually turned into anger.  Anger towards his father for the way he treated him, and the way he treated his mother.  Bits and pieces of memories combined into an incident where his drunken father was beating Ash for no better reason than being bored or being intoxicated.  In this scenario, Ash had blood dripping from one nostril and a soon-to-be black eye.  He was cowering against the wall on his bed, trying to keep this madman at bay with one arm while his other clutched his crying, trembling body.  Though he didn't recall what he was yelling, none of it was too pleasant.

            Back in the bathroom, Ash's face tensed up and his body trembled.  His own face disappeared and was replaced by his biological father's.

            Everything was beginning to overwhelm the so-called greatest Pokémon master in the world.  His anger taking control of him, Ash did something that he should've done those years ago had he the strength and the will to do so.  He did something he would've done if the little boy getting mercilessly beaten and berated had been a world class Pokémon trainer and a Jankenpo disciple – or now, he could be considered one of the "Z-Fighters".  All that built-up anger was concentrated into a single moment.

            Ash lunged forward, and slammed his left fist as hard as he could into his reflection.  Instantly, the mirror became a tangled web of spider web-like cracks leaving sections of reflective glass no bigger than a 10 Crystal Yen bill.

            Gohan froze in place, the sound of shattering glass smacking him like he was hit in the back of the head with a brick.  He raced back to the bathroom and flung the door open to try and figure out what the hell just happened.  And then, he saw it.  Leaning on the counter was his gaijin brother, his head hung low and tears pouring from his eyes.  Ash's crying was low and under control, but plagued with anguish.  Blood ran down Ash's left hand from gashes on his knuckles amongst small shards of broken glass.  The mirror was completely destroyed.

            He watched as a few loose shards fell from what was left of the mirror, his lips mouthing the phrase "Oh, shit," but no sound came out.  Nothing could begin to describe the confusion and appall the young demi-Saiyan suddenly felt.  To Gohan, the only reasonable explanation he could come up with is that Ash snapped.  Whatever was plaguing his frail psyche, Ash could handle no more.  Gohan had to do something, lest his brother do something really destructive.

            By the time he went to follow up on this new game plan, Ash had already disappeared from site.  Gohan frantically looked around and eventually found his brother moving up the stairs to the bedroom.  "Ash, what's wrong?" Gohan asked firmly, hoping the kid would stop.  "Ash?  Ash!"

            Ash didn't stop, but instead seemed to pick up his pace.  He ignored his brother's beckoning even as he shut the bedroom door shut, locking it.  Still clad in only a towel, he sat down a bit carelessly on his bed, drew his knees to his chest and resumed crying.  As he remain lost in his sudden mood swing, Gohan banged on the door to their room, pleading with his brother to let him in.  Gohan's intentions were to help Ash deal with his problems, but Ash didn't know that.  All Ash knew was that he wanted to be alone.

            Finally giving up after failing to get a response from Ash, Gohan became silent.  He looked at the door forlornly, worried for his brother's sake.  Knowing nothing would get his brother to listen to him, he sighed sadly, and headed back downstairs to the living room.  He sat down on the couch and stared out the window.  Their parents weren't back yet; they had no idea as to when they would return…and from where.  A light snow began to fall…

            About an hour later, Gohan heard the same footfalls on the steps he heard earlier this morning.  Again, Ash made his way down the stairs, this time fully clothed.  He didn't acknowledge Gohan's presence—possibly because he was too lost in his thoughts to notice.  Ash opened the closet door none too gently and grabbed his heavy winter coat.  Pikachu was at his feet instantly, and with a sad, small smile, pulled the yellow mouse to his chest and zipped up his coat high enough for Pikachu to peek his head out.  As he headed down the stairs to the front door, Gohan got up.

            "Ash?" he asked, "where are you going?"

            "I'm going out for a little while," Ash answered, still not looking at Gohan.  He wasn't snubbing his brother, however; Ash's face still showed evidence of his heavy crying and his eyes were still bloodshot.  Letting anyone see Ash in such a condition detested him to no end.

            "Where?" Gohan asked firmly.

            "_Out,_" Ash answered venomously.  He glanced over a folded up piece of paper that was in his left hand and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.  "Just leave me alone, alright?  I'll be fine."

            This attitude from Ash really upset Gohan.  What's with all these weird mood swings, anyway?  "Ashura…look, man…I just want to know – "

            "Will you just _leave me the fuck alone already?!_" Ash screamed as he spun around sharply, putting himself face to face with Gohan.  Gohan's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and his jaw hang open.  Ash was doing his best to get his heavy breathing under control.  Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.  Pikachu craned his head upward to look at his trainer, just as shocked as the brothers were.

            It wasn't like Ash to lash out at people like this, and both the eldest Son boys knew this.  All at once, Ash wanted to apologize and just pour out everything that was bothering him to his brother.  All at once, Gohan wanted to get inside his stepbrother's head, find out what was bothering him so much, and do whatever he could to make it stop.

            But alas, they both felt that would not happen.  Gohan believed he would get the same, if not more harsh words Ash just spit out; Ash was certain he was beyond forgiveness with everyone.

            Not uttering another word and quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, Ash turned back around, walked out the front door, and slammed the door shut.  Gohan hesitated for a moment, and was in quick pursuit.  As he made his way outside, he saw nothing.  He looked around frantically; if Ash had used his ki to fly away, he'd at least be able to see the trail his ki left.   But no, this wasn't the case.  Two words rang clear in Gohan's mind—instant transmission.

            Gohan was about to make himself sick with worry.  He had no idea where Ash was going, and even worse, had no idea what he would do in his current state of mind…

TO BE CONTINUED…………………


	4. Part 4

CWE – Christmas 2002

I hope all of my readers enjoyed their Christmas.  Though I had hoped to finish my story before the 25th, it quickly became apparent that such would not be the case.  At the present time, I can predict one more chapter – possibly two – left before this story draws to a close.  So stay tuned.

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters don't belong to me...

TIME:  Later that afternoon

LOCATION:  Son house

            _"GOHAN!"_

            He had been dreading this moment.  God knows how much he dreaded it.

            After Ash suddenly split for parts unknown about an hour ago, Gohan had the house to himself…which wasn't necessarily a good thing in this case.  He had spent the few hours he had alone in the house up in arms anticipating his parents' wrath once they saw what Ash did to the bathroom mirror.  Even worse, the perpetrator isn't even here to own up to his actions!  Dammit, Ash!

            Gohan saw his father emerge from the bathroom and storm out into the living room where he was, a look of burning anger on his eyes.  Immediately, his eyes were on his eldest son, demanding an explanation.

            "Y-yeah?" Gohan asked nervously, trying to swallow the huge lump in his throat.  Not too many times have any of his children done anything to get him really angry, but now was one of those times.  Also, Goku was never one to let his anger get the best of him (unless, however, the life of one of his friends or family members was in danger).

            "Come with me," Goku said, beckoning to his boy.  He turned and went back to the hall bathroom, not bothering to look back; he knew Gohan would follow.  He was a few steps in front of the bathroom, and when he stopped, Gohan stopped directly in the doorway.  "In there," he motioned.  "What happened to the mirror?"

            Gohan, too unnerved to say anything, remained silence.  His hands where shaking, and he was silently hoping his father wouldn't notice.

            "What's going on?"

            By now, Chichi had joined the two of them, and when Chichi saw the shattered remains of the mirror on the wall, she shrieked out in shock.  As she stormed in to confront her son, Gohan backed away, eyes wide as dinner plates.  She had him backed into a corner.  "What did you do, Gohan?!" she yelled.  "You better tell me what happened here and _you better not lie to me!_"

            As if his father's wrath wasn't bad enough, his mother's fury was devastating for him.  She, at any given time, could consistently be a hundred times angrier than his dad ever could, and she knew that, it seemed.  Gohan was shaking as he tried to give a response.

            "I, uh, ah, but…" Gohan stuttered, "i-i-i-it wasn't me!  I didn't do it!"

            "Then who did?" his father asked.

            "I-it was Ash!  I swear!  He did this…" He hung his head as he said this, recalling the string of incidents he had with his brother earlier that day.  Ash smashing the mirror to pieces, how he holed himself up in his room crying, and finally, his harsh outburst just before he "went out".  If Gohan was driving himself sick with worry, he couldn't begin to imagine what Ash must be going through.    "But…"

            "But what?" Goku asked none-too-lightly.

            "What do we look like, idiots?  Why are you trying to blame this on you brother?" Chichi asked, not missing a beat between hers and Goku's questions.

            "N-no!  You don't understand!"

            "What's not to understand?"

            "Some…something's wrong with Ash.  He won't admit it to anyone, but I know…he's really upset and, and…he's acting really weird and all."  Tears formed at the corners of Gohan's eyes as he told his parents what was happing with his little brother.  He reluctantly looked up at them.  "I'm _really_ worried about him…"

            Goku walked up to his son, gently nudging Chichi to move over.  All the anger the both of them felt suddenly vanished, replaced with concern.  "What are you talking about?" he asked, now out of worry instead of anger.

            "You know Ash has been acting…well, he's not been himself lately, you noticed?" Gohan asked.

            "Well, yeah," Goku answered.

            "He won't say what's wrong with him…" Chichi said sadly, almost as if she failed as a mother.

            "He won't say _anything _to _anybody,_" Gohan added.  And at that, he told his parents about the events that transpired between the brothers while they were gone.  The young man had to pause more than once to keep himself from getting too choked up or to organize his thoughts into words.  As they listened to their son's story, Goku and Chichi realized that Gohan was telling the truth about their gaijin son.  The broken mirror was the last thing on their minds when Gohan finished his tale.  By the time Gohan told them about Ash's sudden departure, Gohan felt like crying himself.  Instead, though, he held back as much as he could.  He didn't want his parents to worry about him right now.  He wasn't the one who needed it now.

            "…and then he just…left?" Chichi asked.

            "Yeah," Gohan confirmed.  They had since moved into the kitchen, where Gohan felt he had an easier time telling his story.  "He didn't say where he was going or when he'd be back.  All I know is that he took Pikachu with him and he had some…some kind of list with him.  I saw him pocket it just before he left."

            "But you don't know where he was going?" Goku asked.  Gohan shook his head 'no'.

            "I'm really worried about him," Gohan started, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.  "I'm afraid he might do something to himself…" He shut his eyes tightly, his head bowed with his hand on his forehead.  A few tears escaped the corners of his eyes.

            "Hey, don't worry," Goku said, rubbing his son's back lightly.  "Calm down; everything will be fine, just you wait and see."

            "Dad," Gohan pleaded, "we can't just sit here and do nothing!  Shouldn't we go look for him?"

            "Where would he go?" Chichi asked.  "You know Ash can get pretty bored sometimes; he isn't likely to stay in the same place for long…unless he has some sort of purpose.  Know any places like that?"

            "No…not really."

            "Don't worry, he'll come home eventually," Goku added.  His somewhat more positive outlook on this situation did little to help Gohan.  "But until then…" he reached for the telephone and began to dial, "I have an idea where he could've gone…" He quickly dialed the number for the home of Dr. Waylon Tomoe, the father of Hotaru Tomoe – a.k.a. Sailor Saturn – Ash's girlfriend.  As the boy grew, so did the amount of time he spent with the young lady.  Both parents were happy that both of their older sons had such healthy relationships, even if it meant they were spending less time at home.

            The phone rang and rang on the other side, but there was no answer.  Goku sighed as he hung up the phone.  "No answer," he said in a low tone.

            His attention was suddenly drawn to a loud knocking on the door.  Gohan opened the front door to find Hotaru and Reenie standing there.  Gohan told Reenie that they were decorating the tree today, and she insisted she be a part of it.  She had passed the information on to Hotaru, who was also invited.  Gohan let them in, and they removed their shoes and coats as they did.  It was still snowing out and most of their outer attire was covered in snow…including Reenie's hair, done up in its conic buns with the puffy, pink tails coming out of each.

            "Hotaru!" Goku called, meeting her at the top of the stairs.  "Did your father drop you off?"

            "No," she answered.  "My father's been at work all day and last night, so I've been at the castle all day with Reenie."  She tilted her head slightly.  "Why, what's wrong?"

            _Well that explains the no answer,_ Goku thought.  "I was wondering if either of you had seen Ash today…"

            "Where is he?" she asked, suddenly worried.

            "Your guess is as good as ours," Gohan answered.

TIME:  Simultaneously

LOCATION:  Mirai house

            "Okay.  So…I sacrifice these…and I can play this now?"

            "Sure…but, you only need to tribute one monster to play that."

            Being on break from touring sure did make days go by a bit more slowly.  The Ends of Time, who were shacked up at their leader Trunks' house for the holiday season, were left to their own devices this day.  Trunks and his wife Mihoshi were at the mall picking up a few last minute Christmas gifts.  Tenchi was glued to Trunks' X-Box, playing _Unreal Tournament _online.  Ranma was out in the back yard training (when protest arose, he simply said, "I've trained in worse).  With everyone else doing their thing, it left Iori and Yugi to themselves, with Yugi taking time out to teach Iori how to play _Duel Monsters_.

            Yugi had lent Iori a deck composed of a number of Yugi's spare cards.  For the most part, Iori was getting the hang of the game.  There were still parts where he needed clarification on the rules, but Yugi helped him through those tough spots.

            Replacing the Celtic Guardian – after Yugi telling him it didn't have to be sacrificed to bring out a Sword Stalker – Iori looked at the game's current positions.  He had the Stalker and the Guardian out with a facedown card, while Yugi was left with a facedown monster and a Curse of Dragon in attack mode.

            "So…can I attack with this guy I just brought out?" Iori asked.

            "Sure."

            "Alright, I'll do that.  But first…" he turned the facedown card face up, revealing it to be a Spellbinding Circle.  "I'll play this thing on that Dragon of yours."  The Circle dropped the Curse of Dragon's attack power down to 1300.  "Now I'll attack with my Sword Stalker.  That destroys the Dragon and you lose…"

            "Nine hundred life points," Yugi clarified.  He was a damn good guitarist, but Iori wasn't too sharp at math.  Yugi marked his score accordingly.  "My turn?" Iori nodded.  He drew his card, but before he could play something, he heard the phone ring.  "Hold on, let me get this."  Yugi got up from his seat and picked up the receiver.

             "Hello? … Oh, hey Son-san.  …  Um, no he's not; he and Mihoshi are at the store.  …  Maybe you can try his cell phone … Who?  Ashura?  …  I haven't seen him.  Sorry.  …  Well, I'll let him know if I do.  Good bye."

            "Who was that?" Iori asked as Yugi returned to his seat.

            "Goku," he said, picking up the cards in his hand.  "He was wondering if anyone had seen his son Ash."

            "I see.  Anyway, it's your turn."

            Yugi picked out a card and laid it on one of his Magic/Trap slots.  "Tribute to the Damned, and I'll play it on your Sword Stalker."

            Iori plucked up the card and gave it a look over.  He tossed it back to Yugi.  "Well, shit."

            Yugi smirked.  The game was suddenly derailed by Tenchi's loud shout of "_Ownage!" _coming from the other room, which seemed to reverberate all throughout the house.  "Why do we allow him to breathe?  Can't we smother him or drown him or something?" Iori asked.

            "You do that.  I'll watch."__

TIME:  Simultaneously

LOCATION:  A shopping mall in downtown Crystal Tokyo

             Amongst all the commotion a busy mall during a holiday season it was a wonder anyone could hear the ringing of a cell phone.

            Still, that was the case.  After a busy afternoon of down-to-the-wire shopping, Trunks and Mihoshi settled down in the food court for a bite to eat.  They didn't have any lunch and the day had brought them a lot more trouble than either of them liked.  That, and carrying around all the bags took more out of Trunks than he thought.

            They had just settled down to their individual meals when Trunks' phone went off.  One way of knowing it belonged to him was that he had downloaded a ring tone of the chorus of a song he wrote—"Hope" (the first track of the Ends of Time album of the same name).  He flashed a puzzled look at his wife as the caller ID displayed Goku's home phone number.

            "Hello?" Trunks answered.  His wife and another young shopper he had run into were watching intently.  "Oh, hey Goku.  …  Ah, just doing some last minute shopping.  This place is a mad house.  …  What's up? …  Ash?  …  Have I seen him?"

            At the mention of his name, Ash's mouth went dry suddenly.  Trunks looked at his young friend and noticed the look on his face.  Apparently, shopping wasn't the only reason Ash was at the mall today.  This was quickly given away by Ash suddenly shaking his head 'no' frantically.

            Trunks didn't want to lie to Goku, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for Ash.  His sympathy for the kid eventually overtook him.  He sighed and continued his conversation.

            "No, sorry Goku," he answered.  "I haven't seen him.  …  Is something the matter?"

            For some reason, the receiver in Trunks' phone was exceptionally loud.  He pulled the phone away from his ear about a foot—partially to spare his ears, but partially because he wanted Ash to hear this.

            "Well, if you do see him," Goku's voice said over the phone, "tell him that we're really worried about him…and that we're not mad at him or anything.  Could you do that for me?"

            "Alright.  But, why would be mad at him?"

            "Oh, it's nothing big. Just be sure to pass that on to him, alright?"

            "Sure."  They said their goodbyes over the phone, and Trunks placed it back in his jacket pocket.  His gaze eventually returned to Ash.  But before he could say anything, Ash had already jumped up from his seat and grabbed his coat.  Pikachu took his place back on his shoulder.

            "I should get going," he said, only glancing at the Mirais.  Today suddenly seemed to take a counterproductive turn for the youth.  Now he's got _them _worried.  The last thing he needs right now is more misplaced sympathy.  "My parents are probably worried about me."  He bent down to grab the large bag full of gifts for his friends and adoptive parents.  "See you later, Trunks."

            Not sure how to take Ash's actions, Trunks simply waved a confused goodbye to the young Pokémon master.  The boy's image became lost in the sea of humanity shortly thereafter.  Ash had made his way to a secluded alcove where a few unoccupied pay phones hang on the wall.  With a sigh, he brought his free hand up, two fingers pressed against his forehead.  The next instant, he disappeared.

            Instantly, Ash appeared on the walkway to his house's front door.  He looked up at his house.  Red and green lights adorned the house, while electric candles shone in each window.  A Christmas tree made of a single strand of spiraling white lights was on the front lawn, alongside an animatronic snowman that tipped his glowing hat to passers-by on timed intervals.  Ash had to admit it; seeing the house aglow in lights like this…it was a beautiful sight.

            On the other side of the larger front window was the living room, with the tree set up right in the middle of it.  He squinted for a second, not sure if he saw what he thought he saw.  His mind wasn't playing tricks on him; for just a brief second, Gohan appeared to hang an ornament on a branch and disappeared from sight.  He reappeared a second later, and for just a sharp instant, the gazes of the Son brothers met.

            Sighing, Ash approached the front door.  It was here where he made up his mind what to do this evening.  "Pikachu…" he started.  "Listen, you don't have to stay up in my room with me if you don't want to.  You can hang downstairs with the others if you want; I don't mind."  

            "Pi ka?" {But why?} Pikachu answered.  "Pika pi…?" {Ash…?}

            Ash didn't answer, but instead walked in the house.  He moved quickly, trying his best not to be noticed by anyone else.  He barely remembered to take his shoes off, and he didn't bother taking off his coat or gloves.  He had set Pikachu down on the steps as he ignored the others in the living room, trimming the tree.

            Unbeknownst to Ash, he was noticed.  "Ash?" Gohan called out.  But Ash didn't heed his brother's call, and disappeared up the steps to the top floor of the house, where the bedrooms were.  "Ash!"  The sudden slamming of his bedroom door told Gohan that he wasn't going to get a response.

            Goku was in the kitchen at the time, sampling Chichi's latest concoction.  He didn't hear the door open and shut, or the trudging up the stairs, but he did hear his son calling out.  "Did someone come in?" Goku asked, peering out of the kitchen with a half-eaten cookie sticking out of his mouth.

            "Yeah, Ash," Gohan answered.  The answer shocked Goku so that he almost choked on his cookie.

            "Ash?" Chichi asked, overhearing the conversation.  "He's come back!  Quick, get him down here, we need to talk to him!"  Though the way she said that made her sound out of frustration or impatience, such wasn't the case.  She was worried about her son's welfare, as any loving parent would.  The main problem was trying to get the boy to realize that.

            "Calm down, Chichi," Goku coaxed.  "He's probably not ready to tell us what's bothering him.  Besides, he'll have to come down sometime."

            "But I don't think I can wait that long," Chichi insisted.  Her back was to him as she said that, but she suddenly snapped back around to her husband.  "You go up and talk to him," she suggested.  "Please, Goku, you have to do something.  This has gone on long enough.  It's not right for him to act like this!"

            Goku paused to let his wife's words sink in.  She had him there; it _wasn't _right for Ash to act so miserable around this time of year.  Looking up the stairs, he swore to himself to get Ash out of this funk he was in, no matter what happens.

            "Alright," he answered.  "I'll get him down here.  It'll be a piece of cake."  He gave a reassuring wink to Chichi before heading up the stairs, taking long enough strides to skip every other one.  He rounded the corner as he finished his ascent and walked down the narrow, dimly lit hallway to his sons' room.  The door was shut, and a dull light shone out into the hallway underneath the door.

            Taking a deep breath, Goku rapped the back of his hand against the door a few times.  "Ash?" 

TO BE CONTINUED…………………


	5. Part 5

CWE – Christmas 2002

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters don't belong to me...

            Goku waited for a response to come from his adopted son as he knocked on the door.  He had been sent up in an effort to snap Ash out of whatever mood he was in and help get him back to his vibrant, joyful self; no one wanted him to spend the holiday season locked up in his room, miserable beyond belief.  That just wasn't right for a boy his age.

            As he waited patiently for a response, he took a few moments to look over the door to their bedroom.  While the dark brown-stained oak itself wasn't anything too special, it was what was on it that made it unique.  Various insignias and other posters adorned the door, including a few small posters, the logo for nuclear activity, a _Parking for Pokémon Masters Only _sign, and a piece of 8½" x 11" legal paper with "Pit of Fire" written in red and yellow kanji.  It was an odd thing, really; every once in a while the artifacts attached to it will be moved up, down, off it altogether…oddly enough he never once actually saw anything move.  It would one day just…end up different.

            Once he returned his attention to the task at hand, Goku realized that he didn't get an answer yet.  He knocked again, this time more forcefully.  "Ash?" he called, a bit louder this time.  "Come on, open up, Ash."  When he knocked, he noticed the door had not been completely shut all the way, and his knocking pushed the door ajar.  Shrugging inwardly, he pushed the door open and stepped in.

            Part of Goku was expecting Ash to be a complete mess—on the bed crying, moping around, not speaking or moving…you name it.  That part was disappointed, to say the least.  In fact, the exact opposite of those expectations was occurring.

            On the other side of the room was Ash, on his bed with his back to the door, a bag of yet-to-be-wrapped Christmas presents in a large brown bag.  Rolls of wrapping paper and assorted bows and labels lay randomly about Ash's little workstation.  His hat was on the floor, and was replaced by a set of powerful headphones.  A black wire ran from said headphones to the stereo against the left wall of the room, placed atop a nightstand.  Goku looked at the stereo system and got his explanation why Ash didn't hear him.  Not only were the headphones pumping the music directly into his ears, they were doing so at maxed out volume.

            Knowing that he wouldn't hear him with the music the way it currently was, Goku quickly spun the volume down to a much lower volume.  Ash sat up from where he was wrapping gifts after hearing the music suddenly die out completely.  It was the middle of a track, during a fast, _loud _part.  He spun around and yanked the headphones from his ears so they hung around his neck, and saw his father standing by the stereo.

            Ash quickly put two and two together and got seven.  "Hey dad, what's up?" he asked, immediately putting on a bright, happy face.

            Goku caught on to Ash's front immediately.  He was quick to call him on it.  "I need to talk to you," he said in a serious tone.

            "There's nothing to worry about!" Ash protested happily.  "I'm fine.  No worries here!"

            To quickly emphasize the hidden point that he didn't want to talk to anyone, Ash quickly replaced the headphones and reached for the stereo remote.  The music was quickly on its way back up to maximum volume.

            At this point, a few chain of events unfolded.  Rolling his eyes in disgust, Goku walked over to his adoptive son.  Ash had suddenly gotten up and went to his desk, looking for a fresh pen.  Ash's actions put the headphone cord directly in Goku's path…that Goku did not notice until it was too late.

            "Come on, Ash," Goku insisted, "No one completely alienates themseEEEYAAAH!"

            Goku did not see the cord stretched to its limits, and was condemned to tripping over it.  He shouted and flailed his limbs wildly as his balance suddenly abandoned him.  As he tripped and fell, the headphones simultaneously came detached from both Ash's head and the system at the same time.  For a few moments, loud, fast heavy metal thundered throughout the house.

            The front that Ash had suddenly put up instantly disappeared when he was separated from his music.  He would've turned off the radio himself, but he was suddenly too frozen in fear to do anything.  Ash only saw his stepfather lying on the ground after tripping over _his _headphones, with the radio playing way too loud.  Ash only assumed his father was even angrier with him.

            Goku pulled himself up to his feet, eyes half clenched in pain as he heard the same loud music that was just recently being pumped directly into the boy's head.  He walked like he was battling against hurricane force winds as he approached the stereo, and turned off the power.  Compared to the thundering rap-metal that was playing just moments ago, the silence was just as deafening.

            Ash absentmindedly twiddled with his headphones as Goku got himself back together.  On the inside, he was bracing himself for the worst; he just knew he was angry about the mirror, and was expecting him to scream his head off at him.  Even worse, he was certain that what just transpired wasn't going to earn him any points in his favor.

            "I'm serious, Ash," Goku said, in a calm, gentle tone of voice that threw Ash off.  Was he just toying with him?  Leading him into a false sense of security?  When was he going to start yelling and such?  Would he stop there?  "I want to talk to you."

            "I don't…" Ash answered, timidly.  He didn't have the stomach to look at Goku, so he didn't.  Instead, he grabbed a half-wrapped package and quickly finished wrapping it up.  "Just…leave me alone.  I'm fine."  

            "Ash," Goku answered.  He put his hand on the gift, suddenly grabbing Ash's attention.  He suddenly looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open.  "Listen to me," he urged, his tone firm but still gentle.  "I want to know what's bothering you, son.  You're not fine, and both you and I know it."  Ash suddenly pulled back on the box, clutching it closely to his chest, then went to his desk to put the gift on the tall stack of presents already there.  He gave Goku a look like he was going to turn to stone if he kept eye contact with him any longer.

"Come on, son," Goku continued, his voice now sounding like he was pleading.  "Everyone's worried about you.  I mean, what's upsetting you so much that you can't tell anyone?  I…I don't understand why you're acting like this; it's Christmas!"

            Goku was trying his hardest to get Ash to understand where he was coming from.  He had every intention of helping Ash with his problem, but Ash didn't seem to get that.  Whatever lack of trust or inborn fear the young man had was keeping him from seeing Goku's intentions.  Ash had taken Goku's words completely the wrong way.

            Goku's face fell when Ash suddenly knocked down the tower of gifts on his desk.  The presents clattered noisily against the desk and upon Ash, who was slumped over the desk, leaning on his arms with his head down.  Though Goku didn't see it, his eyes were screwed shut, trying desperately to fight off the tears.

            While Ash was trying to keep himself from crying, he had a flashback to a younger, less happy time in his life.  This wasn't the first time he was in this situation, feeling cornered, helpless….  His father had him in this sort of predicament on more than one occasion, and the outcome was never very pretty.

            "I know you're hiding something from me…" he heard Goku say.  Unfortunately, a lot of these aforementioned confrontations opened with that exact same line.  Though Goku didn't follow it up exactly, all Ash could hear was the next hurtful words from his father's mouth.

_            "…and you better tell me what it is or else you're going to be in a world of trouble!"_

            As Goku spoke to his son, he noticed the boy start to tremble and let out an ever-so-slight whimper.  "…but I just want to let you know that whatever it is that's upsetting you, you can tell me."  He approached slowly, cautiously.  Ash didn't move save for the shaking he was currently doing.  Goku put his hand on his shoulder, causing Ash to flinch, but not pull completely away.  "Come on, buddy.  You can tell me."  A pause.  "Let me guess…you think I'm mad at you or something?"

            Slowly, Ash looked back over his shoulder at his stepfather.  His eyes were tearing up, but he couldn't bring himself to wipe the tears away.  He held eye contact with the man for only a few seconds before turning sharply away.  "I…I'm sorry," he stammered, "I'm sorry about the mirror."  Ash's head snapped back up to Goku, his face filled with deep pleading and remorse.  "B-but I didn't mean to do, I swear!  I-I-I don't know why, I did it, really.  I…"

He looked down, running his hand through his hair.  "I don't know how I…no…there's no explanation for why I did what I did.  Besides…" his voice became much lower.  "…you wouldn't understand anyway…"

            Goku raised a curious eyebrow at this last statement from the gaijin boy.  "What wouldn't I understand?"

            Ash's head snapped up.  "Huh?"

            "What do you mean by I wouldn't understand?"  Ash went silent for a second.  Then the realization hit him abruptly.  Saiyans have much better hearing than humans, so Ash couldn't hide his mumbling from him.  Chances are he could've heard his incoherent mumbling from across the room.

            "You wouldn't!" Ash insisted.  "I mean…" The young man was at a loss for words, trying to explain to Goku why he was so upset.  He started to grow flustered as he tried to speak, to convey the full extent of his heartache.  "I don't think you could.  I mean…it's just stupid, now that I think about it."

            "Don't say that, Ash," Goku urged.  "Look, if something's bothering you that much, it's anything but stupid."  As he spoke to Ash, he led him over to his bed.  He pushed aside the gift-wrapping materials aside and sat down on his bed, next to Ash.  "I really want to know what's bothering you, son.  I mean, if it's something really serious, we can get you some help.  We don't want to see you suffer in silence, Ash…we want to help you."

            Ash found himself unable to keep his eyes off Goku for too long.  His father's words had a very deep, profound effect on him.  He took into consideration every word he said to him.  He also figured that this is one of the last people who would lie to him.  So for all intents and purposes, he really did want to help him.  He does want to listen to him, and try the best he can to help Ash sort through all his issues.

            He does want to help him.

            "Alright," Ash said, looking down sadly.  "But you're still gonna think it's stupid."

            "Try me."

            Ash sighed heavily before continuing.  The deafening silence made things much more uncomfortable.  "Well, you're probably gonna be mad for making such a big deal out of this…" Goku focused his attention to the boy's words.  "I miss my mom."  Ash hung his head, tears dripping slowly from his eyes.  "I know I've said that before, but…it's too much for me this time."

            Goku watched in silence as his son cried next to him.  Ash's quiet sobbing was the only sound heard in the room for a few moments.  Goku didn't know what to think right now.

            "That's it?" Goku said.  "That's all that's bothering you?  Gee, I knew that you were taking your mother's death pretty difficult—"

            "That's not the end of it," Ash interrupted, harshly.  This whole time, as he poured out his story, he never once picked up his eyes to look at Goku.  "I mean…I-I know it's Christmas and all, but…that's, that's another part of it.  It just makes me with she was still here with me and I could have things the way they were before she died.  When my father left, my mom and I were all we had.  We weren't very well off so…it was really tough for the two of us.  She would've done anything for me, especially around the holidays.  It…it was the closest we were to each other.  B-but…now…now it's…just not the same!"

            Goku could see where this was going.  The youth's emotional dam was starting to crack, and when it did, he would need a shoulder to cry on—literally if not figuratively.  He drew his arm around Ash, gently rubbing his opposite arm as he poured his heart out.  

             "All this time I've felt like you all have been leaving me out of everything.  I mean I see you and Gohan an-and even Goten, how you act around them, how happy they are, and all I can think about is…what about me?  I know that sounds selfish and whatnot…" Ash choked out a sob when he said this.  "…but my father hated me!  He did, he really did!  My mother…what he did to my mother and I were just…I-I didn't do anything to deserve that, did I?  Did I?!"

            Goku lowered his head closer to his son and drew him closer to himself.  He didn't answer Ash's question—partly because he didn't know if it was addressed to him or just said out of anger, and partly because the answer was an all-too-obvious "no".

            "I just…" Ash continued, wiping his face, "I just wish my father would've treated me the way you treat Gohan.  The way I've felt for the past month or so is how I've spent years feeling.  I…I feel so…completely worthless right now.  And that's just how he made me feel, every day of my life.  R-right now I don't know what to believe, but so far the only thing I can think of is that I'm _am _worthless.  I'm weak…pathetic…"

            With that, Ash could say no more.  He broke down into frenetic sobbing as all his angst became too much for him.  His hands strayed from his face to his hair on occasions, and his sobs started to shift from calm to hysterical.

            Goku felt an enormous wave of pity and compassion overcome him, and drew Ash into his embrace.  The boy did not stop crying as he was pulled into Goku's lap, but instead returned the embrace his stepfather gave him, crying feverishly into his shirt.  No other words were exchanged between the two of them that night, as Goku simply sat and let his son cry in his arms.

            Some time passed, and by the time Goku realized Ash had stopped crying, he realized that Ash had fallen asleep.  He didn't know how long he had been there with the heartbroken Ash, but quite frankly, he didn't care.  If he wanted him to stay there with him all night he would've gladly done so.

            Making sure not to disturb the young man, Goku slowly sat up and moved off of Ash's bed.  He held the sleeping Ash with one arm while the other drew back the covers on his bed.  He set him back down gently and pulled the blankets up to Ash's shoulders.  He instinctively turned to his right side with a light groan, but never once did he wake up.  He gave Ash a quick kiss on his forehead before turning to leave the room.  He shut out the light and closed the door, then went back downstairs.

            Reenie and Hotaru had left by now, and the tree looked gorgeous.  Gohan was preoccupied with an edited-for-TV movie while Chichi quickly approached her husband.

            "Goku!" she called, nervous.  "What happened?  Is everything okay?  How is Ash?  What's going to happen with—"

            Goku silenced his wife with a finger upon her lips and a reassuring smile.  "Don't worry," he said, "I took care of it."  He slowly took his finger off his wife's lips, which slowly formed into a smile.  A moment later, she threw herself into his arms, fully assured that he had done it.  He was asleep right now, Goku would explain, so Chichi would have to wait until morning to see firsthand how Ash had changed.

            Right now, she couldn't be more grateful.

            Around 1:00 AM that night, Ash awoke from his sleep.  He was not completely aware that he had gone to sleep, the last thing he remembered was crying his eyes out into his father's shirt.  Therefore, when he sat up, noticed he was still in his regular clothes, and looked at his alarm clock, learning it was the middle of the night surprised him.

            Ash looked around his bedroom, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.  All was calm that night.  The dim glow of the Christmas lights still on outside the house provided a small amount of light to the room.  Everyone else was asleep, including faithful Pikachu at the foot of his bed.  He squinted, and saw Jigglypuff curled up on his brother's bed.  The boys' beds were bunked in the corner of the room to offer more space for other goodies such as a stereo system, a TV with video games, and other things to do.  Gohan had the top bunk, positioned like a normal set of bunk beds but rotated 90 degrees.  A ladder ran at the foot of Gohan's bed, but many times he simply forewent the ladder and would jump straight to the ground.

            "Ash?"  
  


            His ears pricked at the mention of his name.  He turned to his left to find Gohan awake, looking down at him from his bunk.  Ash couldn't read the look on Gohan's face properly.  He remembered the incident earlier that day, when Ash went off right in his older brother's face.  The more he reminisced on that experience the more he realized he made a complete ass of himself.  There was no reason for him to blow up on him like that.  Gohan _was _trying to help, and Ash pretty much spat in his face.

            Now the only question was if Gohan was still upset with him from earlier.  He knew that his walking out made him take the fall for destroying the mirror, something Gohan didn't deserve either.  But it was no good to dwell on those notions.  Ash decided to just get it over with.

            "Hey, Gohan," Ash said quietly.  "Can't sleep either, huh?"  Gohan shook his head 'no'.  "Did I wake you just now?  I'm sorry if I did…"

            "Nah, I could stay asleep myself."  He shifted position so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his legs dangling off the side.  "But I'm not the one to worry about right now.  I'm more worried about you."

            Ash hung his head slightly.  He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it, but pouring everything out to Goku earlier that night made him feel _a lot _better.  Still, the thought of people fussing over him unnecessarily did not sit right with Ashura.  It was just who he was.

            "I'll be alright," Ash said, looking up at his brother.  Gohan pushed himself off the bed, and landed on his feet with a low thump.  He walked over to Ash and sat down next to him.  "Listen…I'm…I'm sorry about earlier.  You didn't deserve that."

            "Hey, I'll get over it—"

            "No, wait.  I…I had a lot of issues to work out – I probably still do.  But…I don't know what it was.  Look, I didn't mean to go off on you this morning.  That…that was stupid of me.  I'm sorry."  Ash sighed heavily.  "And…I didn't know you wanted to help me…so, I'm sorry for blowing you off like that."

            "It's cool," Gohan answered with a smirk.  This drew a curious look from Ash.  The speed at which Gohan forgave him struck something in him.  "Hey, you can't help it if you're so thick-headed, right?"

            Gohan chuckled, while Ash shoved him with one arm.  "Knock it off," Ash answered, a smile forming on his face.

            "You are!  You don't think so?  You're a lot more stubborn than you realize, Ash.  I don't know when you got it in your head that you have go through this shit alone, man."

            "I don't know, either.  I guess it's because I know people got other things to worry about than me…"

            "Perhaps.  But we still worry about you, bro.  Besides, you think we try to help you through stuff like this because we think you're weak?  No; it's because we really do care.  I know I do.  You put up with a lot more bullshit than anyone else I know, and look at you—you're still here, aren't you?  I think that counts for something!"

            Ash shrugged, smiling slightly.  "Yeah, I guess so."

            "By the way," Gohan said, tilting his head, "why the delusions of worthlessness all of a sudden?  What was that all about?"

            "Delusions-in-the-what-now?"

            Gohan rolled his eyes.  "Why were you thinking you weren't worth anything?"

            Ash sighed and looked down.  He folded his hands in his lap.  "I don't know, really," he explained.  "I guess one bad feeling led to another all this time.  I don't know how else to explain it."  He looked at Gohan.  "But there's nothing to worry about anymore.  I'm fine, now."

            "You're sure?"

            "Positive."  He gave his brother one last look.  "Do you forgive me for how I acted this morning?"

            "Sure, bro."  He smiled, and was about to get up and go back to bed when Ash pulled him into a tight hug.  Gohan could feel one of Ash's hands clasped in a tight fist as he returned the embrace.

            "Thanks, bro," Ash said in a low tone.  "Thanks a lot, man."  They held the embrace for a few moments more before finally letting go.  Without another word, Ash settled back under the covers, while Gohan hopped up the ladder to his bed.  Within moments, Gohan was asleep.

            Again, Ash was left staring at the ceiling, but unlike earlier, all the dread and worthlessness had ceased to exist entirely.  Now, he was much more in control of his emotions.  He no longer felt worthless, unimportant, or like he was the object of so much ridicule and indifference.  His parents knew of his plight, and the reason behind his actions, and after being worried that his brother had written him off, had finally made amends with him.  Everything had changed, it seemed.  The massive weight that had been attached to his shoulders was now nonexistent.  For the first time in a long time, Ash felt like he could enjoy Christmas with his new family.

            As he lay in bed that night, Ash drifted off to sleep with a smile. 

THE END.


End file.
